Materialographic grinders and polishers are used intensively for preparation of raw material and for preparation of samples to microstructural analysis. For example submicron precision polishing is used for preparation of silicon wafers which are useful for chip fabrication. Automated grinding is widely used as a shaping process of solid materials, for example for final shaping of sintered advanced ceramic components and various metallic precision parts. Polishing and grinding are also used in quality control and failure analysis for materialographic examination. In all these cases fast, reliable, automated inline measurement of material removal is essential for the end user.